I guess i can live without 3 milliseconds speedincrease. Also the idea to get locked in MS's version of Applestore doesn't really attract me that much.

By the time Win11 comes out and win32 is phased out so you can only install MS approved apps from their store i imagine the run for other options will be impressive. At least i'll be gone.

I wonder how many corporate IT guys are actually aware of the honeytrap win8 is, and how MS is babystepping towards a whole new virtual monopoly.

Let's face it, the only true reason MS turns such huge profits is because they rent out the same product that cost hardly anything relative to the returns to make due to their marketposition.

If in fact mobile computing becomes the new market (which i seriously doubt will be any kind of tablet form since that is only useful to look at things, not to write your masterthesis on) they lose their position so they need a new monopoly.

To my mind they got it completely wrong. This tablet fad is going to blow over as soon people get wise it's  a gadget, not a serious platfrom to get any work done on.

No corporation in his right mind is going to replace its laptops/notebooks with expensive toys that add no real value other then prettiness.

So they'll be stuck with a horrid GUI and hardly any corporate sales. So either they must hugely increase the price or suffer some serious losses.

But i might be wrong, given the current state of education the IT people might very well be silly enough to buy the whole thing hook, line and sinker.

Time will tell.

So what happens if the changes in Win 9 are even greater... and in Win 10 even greater again.... and by Win 11 MS ceases support for all previous OSes.  By then, Windows will be nothing like what we know now and the learning curve may have become so steep it is insurmountable. 

For mine, MS is about to enter a phase of tech that has been the stuff of Science fiction 'til now, and while it's $39.99, there is no time like the present to join with what is the future of Windows... because in January 2013, Win 8 goes to full price and the opportunity to affordably get on board with the new direction Windows is going will be lost. 

And I honestly don't see MS doing special prices to enter this new phase with Win 9, 10 or 11.

Me too, but I know were petrossa is coming from.  I know for a fact that a tablet, meaning any currently available tablet, would not be up for the kind of video editing/converting that I do on my PC.  Mind you, I have a fairly fast, upper end PC, but then that's what people into content creation have... high-end machines with more than enough power to complete their tasks and then some.

Pads are a novelty at the moment and they may grow in power as well as usage, but I don't see major corporations investing in them for staff to take care of business.  That's where I think the desktop PC will stay... and stay for good.  Yes, I have a pad, but I'll never see it as a desktop replacement or as a primary work tool.  In fact, I prefer my desktop PC above the pad and/or a laptop, and I'm pretty sure there are others who feel the same... because they can't create content; check mails; surf the net or listen to music all at once on a pad.

So yeah, pads/tablets have a hell of a way to go before they're even mildly competitive with a desktop PC.

Oh, and another reason businesses aren't likely to equip staff with tablets... they're easy to conceal and walk out the door with.

I bought Win8 ONLY because it was $70.  It seemed like too good of a deal to pass up, as full versions of Windows 7 are north of $200.  I'm only going to install Win8 on my SECONDARY desktop PC.  I wouldn't dare take a chance on ruining my beautiful, highly-customized Win7 setup.  My primary machine will still run Win7 for a long time.  So even if Windows 8 sucks, it's still a win-win for me. 

yeah its not compareable to a desktop pc but companys already use them like a furniture company here that i know. They use ipads just to show their catalogs to customers so they dont have to print pages of the products all over again. 
I could see them using a surface : The salesman could show the product in various colors that are available - make measurements without walking back to desktop pc - placing the order via the pad and send the order over to the accountant that finishes everything else.
Already i see savings in workspace and time savings bc you have a portable device always with you to show things right away without having to beg the customer to follow you to a desktop pc.
It sure can be pretty expansive but also it can be usefull all depends on what you are selling i guess if you sell furniture for example like Rolf Benz, Team7, Voglaurer or equal it is not much of an investment for the company since the products sold are not cheap - i could not afford them
i do see a good solid step into the tablet market with surface for MS - thats all i dont say they will replace a desktop pc  but they are powerfull enough to do office works and beyond like PS

I'll stick with 7.

@rolocolor It's not the specs, who cares. It is that using a touch interface to do normal everyday work on is a nightmare. Let's face it, most work being done is dataentry/retrieval in some form or another. Not tweeting or playing angry birds.

So you need a large screen to actually see well, and keep on seeing well as you age, plus a decent keyboard.

The movement between your screen and your keyboard only adds stress on your back and neck muscles giving you serious rsi issues after a few years of using it.

It's the total opposite of ergonomics.

So why on earth replace a fully functional laptop/notebook with a disfunctional touch fad thingie that will at a certain date lock you into MS appstore at inflated prices when WIN32 is phased out?

Why replace things that function more then adequate with things that only introduce problems?

If that was so miraculous, why does Apple still develops/sells anything else but iPads. According to you we don't need anything else then a tiny touch screen and an awkward keyboard to do our work.

Seems like a waste of effort on their part.

mhh never thought of that good point... all i was trying to say is that i see the potential but i dont mean that it would replace a desktop pc on a daily basis but that the power of the surface pro would be up for the task ( in some cases). I dont know if the touch screen would be still active if you would use the keyboard touch cover on it and add a mouse ( would be interesting to know ) but as you said the screen would be still very small.
If i would be a student still i would truly think about getting one if the price would be a little lower - I could see me using it for presentations it has a VGA output as far as i have seen you can make notes on pdfs and use it like a laptop without having the wait of one.
I dunno  - i dont want you to give up your laptop or your desktop pc for a surface / no no iam a desktop pc user myself
like i said i dont know but im sure that it will sell along W8 

@roloccolor

Sure there are advantages. I have 2 Motorola Xoom tablets which i use as dlna/internet streaming endstations for my flatscreen tv's in the bedroom and kitchen.

Handy as hell. Hooked up via HDMI cable i can watch movies, listen to music, surf a bit etc in bed on my tv. Who needs a smart tv?

Outside they are pretty useless in sunlight, whichever the make. In europe wifi in the train is spotty and then i'm being kind. Free wifi is only in MacDo which i can't stand because of the horrible stink of old grease, using my mobile as wifi hotpot is risky since i live at the frontier of two countries, risking huge data cost.

So pretty much any serious use of a tablet outdoors is limited to large cities. granted a lot of people live in big cities, but also a lot don't. Furthermore in most big cities walking around with a tablet in your hands is equal to putting a sign on your head that says: Mug me.

In a nutshell a tablet is handy when you have a good (free) wifi connection, indoors, and when you have a table/desktop to put it on.

In effect it's only really useful where you would put a pc anyway.

I found an app called Splashtop that allows me to access and control my downstairs PC while I'm upstairs on my pad.... and that's full access to everything; files folders, drives, and is not restricted to just shared folders like MS' home network setup.  So yeah, I can be in bed and use my pad to write a letter; watch home movies; listen to my music... pretty much anything I can do while downstairs sitting at my PC.

Yeah, it's bloody brilliant.

Yeah, i've got splashtop too. Even handles multi-monitor setups very well. But doing it on the tablet directly is too fiddly for me with that tiny screen, my fingers are too clumsy, on the tv it is alright.

What is fun i've installed Multiplicity from stardock so i can also control my server with the tablet via my pc.

People tend to foget one doesn't stay in their 20's forever, one day also those who can easily see the tablet's tiny stuff will get bad eyes. It's pretty shocking to see how no-one realizes that in 20 years time they'll be cursing the day they startred using a tablet just as so many people are now practically deaf at 30 due to mp3 megaphones in their ears for years..

MP3s didn't exist when I was 30 ......

I'm not having any problems with the tablet in that regard, but then my tablet screen is 10.1" and that's quite managable for me, from both the viewing and the 'touch' aspects.  I doubt that I'd want to go any smaller, though.  Those 7" tablets are too fiddly for my liking, though the one I/we have is handy for taking down the street to go shopping... we use it for the shopping list and calculating what it all comes to, etc.

I'm near 60 and my eyesight and hearing aren't too bad, so I'm not having issues with any of that.  I can see what's on the tablet well enough and I can see everything on my PC screen well enough.  The only difficulty I have is with printed material sometimes.  I do need glasses with some of the finer print, but other than that my vision is still quite good.

I used to listen to my music up loud, right through my teens, 20's, 30's and well into my 40's, though that was usually through my hi'fi system speakers rather than headphones, but I sort of grew out of that around 45ish and became... uh, more like my parents: "Turn that bloody racket down!"

I get your meaning, though... which is why I don't spend a lot of time using my tablet.  I prefer using my PC anyway. It's more comfortable and I just feel more at home on it.